Bright House Networks

Deceptive Rate Increases by Separating Equipment Fees From Service Rates

Posted by Soaring Consumer on 04/11/2013

SANFORD, FLORIDA -- I was receiving a service package from Bright House Networks with a base rate of $97 plus taxes and fees for a total of around $105 per month which included high definition cable TV and 10 MBPS internet speed.

In October 2012 they began charging a $2 monthly fee for the internet modem which they provided for using the service increasing the rate to ~$107, then in February 2013 they increased that fee to $3.50 which made the monthly rate to ~108.50.

When I got my most recent bill in April, I found that my bill was now $116.50! When I called about this they informed me that the $8 charge is for the digital cable receiver. I asked why I am now being charged separately for the cable receiver and the representative answered that now they separate the equipment charges from the service rates to make the bill easier to understand.

I responded back that the fact is it still makes the bill higher and she responded that the services and charges are always subject to change at any time however she did apply a substantial credit to my bill to offset this change, and they were still friendly and cordial as I normally expected. Still this does seem like an unscrupulous way to say "hello friend", to start charging additional fees for the equipment rather than having them included with the service rate as it used to be.

In other words, they're increasing the monthly bills, without "increasing the rates" or adequate disclosure of their intentions.

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Why a monopoly is a bad thing.

Posted by The_Jeecheroo on 08/24/2011

CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA -- I am usually very patient with companies I do business with, and I understand that no business is perfect. However, I don't think I have been so angry, so fed up with any company as much as I have been with BrightHouse. I could write a novel about the problems I've had with them, from having a simple hookup take four days (complimented with me jumping through hoops to get it done) when it should have only taken 30 minutes, having them auto-debit over $300 in unauthorized charges from my bank account, having my Internet crap out on me because a tech guy couldn't get the repair done right the first time, etc. I'm just going to just talk about today's incident.

I was scheduled to have my Internet disconnected on 8/25/11 from 10am to 12pm. I even have the email confirmation that has that info. I planned on turning in my modem that morning because I'm moving to another area and have to get service at my new place hooked up all over again. Well I come home this afternoon to find out that the Internet has been shut off. I called BrightHouse and they told me that apparently the disconnect was put in for TODAY the 24th. You don't know how angry I was, especially after the customer service representative acted like it was my fault for somehow not knowing about the disconnect date that was obviously a screw up on their part. To add insult to injury, they couldn't even send out a tech guy to come back and reinstall the cable because their only tech guy went home for the day.

Under normal circumstances, I would just take my business elsewhere, but unfortunately BrightHouse has a monopoly over Cable Internet, and most apartment complexes only allow you to use them. What a load of crock!

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Poor Customer Service

Posted by rmyrick on 06/22/2010

I was surprised by the reaction of the customer service representative at Brighthouse when I called to report that my internet service had gone down AGAIN! It seems that at least once a week I lose my internet connection and several times a week that I have to unplug my Brighthouse router to get the speed to increase. When I called this specific time to report the lose and to BEG them to send someone out right away since I work from home and had a very important report due to my VP, I was told sorry we can get someone out tomorrow. When I mentioned that I was tired of losing my connection and was going to look into another carrier the representative told me "well you do what you have too". When I said look all I want is to have my connection working today it's important he said "what do you want me to do, cancel someone elses appt just for you". Needless to say, I am switching to AT&T and I don't think Brighthouse even cares. If you have an option in your area I would recommend staying away from Brighthouse. I have spoken with several people who also have trouble with Brighthouse and are considering the switch!

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Blasting Commercials Loudly

Posted by Jim on 02/04/2009

HOMOSASSA, FLORIDA -- I recently contacted Bright House (Tampa office) about the problem with the volume of commercials. When watching television and a commercial comes on, the volume increases so much that the TV must be turned down quite a bit. After the commercial finishes, the TV must be turned up again to hear the program.
I previously had cable service with the same company, using the same television and did not have this problem.

Bright House made an appointment for a service call, and on the day of the appointment I received a call from the service tech that there was nothing that could be done about my problem and that he was not coming.

I cannot imagine that Bright House thinks that they are doing a service for their advertisers by blasting the commercials so loudly. I guess my only alternative is to mute the commercials since this is the only cable service currently available in my area.

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Excellent Service and Very Good Customer Care

Posted by Soaring Consumer on 11/14/2008

SANFORD, FLORIDA -- I was originally a customer of Time Warner on and off with basic cable since before 2000 and they were very good.

After Bright House Networks bought them out we upgraded to the Digital Cable package. The service has been very reliable, with only a couple days of downtime, which we have received credit for. When we had a service issue they are usually quick to send a technician out and correct the problem. In 2006 we added the high-speed internet to our service. It has been very reliable in itself and I appreciate having these great download speeds. There are no restrictions on download sizes or bandwidth usage, and they even offer CA's security suite for free with the service.

I really appreciate the Thanksgiving special in which customers get free access to the premium movie channels for a week and often there are some offers for free meals from Golden Buffet with the purchase of certain on-demand programs, and the programs themselves cost less than the meals would.

I like the "Asterisk Hunter" commercial scheme in which they advertise how they have no fine print and try to stop the asterisk, I feel really secure about using the service and it is one less thing to worry about. The reliability is excellent, the customer service representatives are very knowledgeable, and they are always available.

Overall this company gives cable a good name.

UPDATE:
On December 8th, 2008, there was a major outage causing a loss of TV service. Now Bright House is putting a credit on the affected accounts AND offering free premium movie services for the next month. What a company! I doubt many others would do that.